Condenser MEMS microphones typically have a diaphragm that forms a capacitor with an underlying backplate. Receipt of an audio signal causes the diaphragm to vibrate to form a variable capacitance signal representing the audio signal. This variable capacitance signal can be amplified, recorded, or otherwise transmitted to another electronic device as an electrical signal. Thus the diaphragm and backplate act as a transducer to transform diaphragm vibrations into an electrical signal.
Microphone transducers typically have a limited dynamic range, defined as the difference between the weakest (in terms of sound pressure level) audio signal that the transducer can accurately reproduce (the bottom-end of the dynamic range), and the strongest audio signal that the transducer can accurately reproduce (the top-end of the dynamic range). The limited dynamic range of the transducer can limit the scope of applications for the microphone.